Trips from Karaganda, Kazakhstan: Gulag memorials, granite hills and steppe lakes

Karaganda, Kazakhstan, is a city in the central steppe, and the closest trips from it are sombre ones: the Karlag Gulag museum in Dolinka and the Spassk prisoner-of-war cemetery, both about 33–34 km away in a straight line. Further out, from about 150 to 300 km, lie granite hills, small mountain lakes and the capital, Astana. Most outdoor trips suit May to September. Indoor sights in Astana work all year.

Where Karaganda is, and how far each trip runs

Karaganda lies in central Kazakhstan, roughly 190 km in a straight line from Astana’s main sights. All the distances below are straight-line figures from the city, not road distances. Roads wind, so the drive will be longer, and we could not confirm road distances or drive times.

The split is simple. If you have one free day, the two memorial sites near the city are the nearest choice. If you have a weekend and a car, the granite country to the east and south opens up.

Near the city: the Gulag and prisoner-of-war memorials

The two closest trips both deal with Soviet camps, and they need a different frame of mind from a hike.

Karlag was one of the largest Gulag labour camps. It covered about 300 by 200 km of steppe and ran for almost thirty years. Its administrative centre was the settlement of Dolinka, south-west of Karaganda, where a museum has worked since 2001. Opening hours are not confirmed, so check before you set out. See the Karlag museum page.

Spassk is a village beside the M-36 highway. The cemetery of Camp No. 99 holds 5,152 prisoners of war and internees of the Second World War, together with prisoners of Karlag and the post-war camps. More than a dozen nations have since raised their own monuments on the site. It is outdoors, so cold months make a visit short and hard. Details are on the Spassk Memorial page.

Both sites lie about 33–34 km from the city. We could not confirm whether a single route links them conveniently on one day.

East and south: granite hills, a small lake and Bronze Age tombs

The landscape trips from Karaganda are weekend trips into the hills that rise from the Saryarka steppe.

• Shaitankol (Devil’s Lake), about 171 km in a straight line, is a pool of roughly 60 × 40 m in pine forest at about 1,200 m, some 5 km from the town of Karkaraly. It is small and known mainly for a legend of a cross thrown into the water in 1905. It makes sense as part of a Karkaraly stay, not on its own. See Lake Shaitankol.
• Kyzylarai, about 232 km away, is a red granite massif whose peak, Aksoran, reaches 1,565 m, the highest point of the Kazakh steppe. It has pine woods, argali, the Begazy Bronze Age burial grounds and mausoleums from the Kazakh–Dzungar wars. The base is the village of Shabanbai Bi. Transport is unconfirmed, and the place is best planned with a car. See Kyzylarai.
• Bektau-Ata, about 293 km away and 60–70 km north of Lake Balkhash, is a cluster of pink granite peaks topping out at 1,213–1,214 m. It has rock pools, a cave with water tied to the legend of the saint Atabek, and a small nature sanctuary. The cave is a revered place, so behave quietly there.

The timing differs. Bektau-Ata peaks in May and September. The other two peak from June to August.

North towards Astana: the capital and its steppe parks

Astana sits about 190 km in a straight line from Karaganda. Its sights are an option if you are travelling between the two cities anyway.

In the city, Bayterek is a 105-metre tower on Nurjol Boulevard with a viewing deck inside a 22-metre golden sphere. The National Museum covers 74,000 m² across seven blocks and holds the Golden Man. Khan Shatyr, a 150-metre transparent tent, has an indoor beach. All three work in winter, which matters in a city where January nights average about −18 °C. The ALZHIR Memorial, on the site of the largest Soviet camp for women (1938–1953), lies about 38 km from Astana and pairs with Karlag as a second view of the Gulag.

Between the two cities, Buiratau National Park (88,968 ha, created in 2011) protects an isolated herd of about 200 argali in the Ereymentau hills, whose top, Akdym, reaches 901 m. Nearby Kobeituz is a salt lake about 20 cm deep whose water can turn pink from an alga. It has no facilities on the shore.

Bayanaul: lakes for a summer weekend

The Bayanaul lakes lie about 209–216 km in a straight line from Karaganda, so they are slightly farther than Astana. They are a summer-only trip.

Zhasybay is a freshwater lake of about 3.5 × 2.4 km, up to 14.7 m deep, in a basin between granite ridges. It is a popular beach lake for people from central and northern Kazakhstan, so expect company in high summer. Toraigyr is smaller, at 0.88 km² and 3.1 m deep, with two rocky islets and a village on its shore. Both sit in Bayanaul National Park and can be combined into one trip. See Lake Zhasybay.

Karaganda weather: which months suit which trip

We could not confirm monthly temperature or rainfall figures for Karaganda itself, so the table below shows how the season ratings for the trips fall across the year. They follow the same steppe pattern: outdoor trips close down in winter and open from May.

If you only have one month to choose, June to August covers the most places. May and September suit the memorials and Bektau-Ata.

What is hard without a car or Russian

Most of these places are remote, and public transport is the main gap. We could not confirm bus routes to Dolinka, Spassk, Karkaraly, Kyzylarai or Bektau-Ata. The Kyzylarai page says outright that transport is unconfirmed and a car is the practical choice. Kobeituz has no facilities at all, and Buiratau charges a small entry fee with four routes. Museum hours at Karlag and ALZHIR are also unconfirmed. Check hours and transport before you set out.